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oakshadows
09-12-2011, 09:11 AM
An earlier post by JoeReal (2005) gave a method of doing this on a larger plant. Can one force a smaller plant, like a Raji, to pup? Doing the seed thing is interesting but quite slow for me. We are mostly interested in the smaller plants since most of them will fruit sooner. They are also easier to move around when necessary.

sandy0225
09-15-2011, 02:19 PM
You can, but it takes some nerve to do it. You have to completely destroy the growing point of the plant like I did with this ensete.
http://www.bananas.org/f16/ensete-maurelii-red-creating-pups-6166.html

That being said--I did it with a 1.5 year old ae ae last year.

oakshadows
09-16-2011, 02:56 PM
Since I don't want to ruin a growing plant I thought of trying other methods. I have read that some of the nurseries and orchards use growth regulaters to control the plant and get the bloom or fruit when they want it. We are going to try this and will post findings. We have used ga3 on tomatoes and it does work. It worked so good that the plants stopped growing and the fruit went crazy. There was a lot of fruit but of small size, will have to be more careful and time the use more carefully. We intend to try sulfate of potash to induce the plant to grow more rapidly and put out pups. Now we aren't very skilled in this procedure so it may or may not work for us but it sure will be interesting. Wish us luck and any help will be very welcome.

oakshadows
01-11-2012, 03:59 PM
Have been taking noticed of the plants and there seem to be a lot of pups. Nothing we have is over 1 year old except for a Mysore. Is it usual for them to put out pups this early. The plants wiith pups are, 6 month old Ice Cream, many Ornatas, Monkey Fingers, Orinocos and a couple unknowns. It looks like we will hve a good supply on hand by the end of spring, wish us luck.

Richard
01-11-2012, 04:24 PM
Can one force a smaller plant, like a Raji, to pup? Doing the seed thing is interesting but quite slow for me.

Raji is a seedless hybrid.

Put it in a 5-gallon pot and feed it a cheap formula with balanced N-P-K such as 10-10-10. The corm will develop rhizomes, and upon hitting the edge of the pot many will likely develop corms/pups.

We are mostly interested in the smaller plants since most of them will fruit sooner.

Not true.

They are also easier to move around when necessary.

I agree!

oakshadows
01-11-2012, 04:47 PM
Will try the five gallon bucket way and see what it does for us. Which plants do you think flower the soonest. Also which ones are candidates for fruiting in containers, biggest pot size to be 25 gallon?
Thanks

Richard
01-11-2012, 06:21 PM
Will try the five gallon bucket way and see what it does for us. Which plants do you think flower the soonest. Also which ones are candidates for fruiting in containers, biggest pot size to be 25 gallon?
Thanks

Are you moving it indoors for periods of sub-freezing weather? If so, you probably have a maximum height requirement too.

If we were growing in the tropics, then "soonest to bloom" would make sense. But in subtropical environments like yours and mine, there are interruptions to the growing period -- kind of like a stop light on the boulevard that forces most of the traffic to travel from start to finish in the same amount of time.

If I were in your location, I would grow Dwarf Namwah for flavor and remove pups on a regular basis so that the corm would focus on servicing the main stalk and the fruit. I would use a 25-gallon pot from the beginning and expect fruit in 2-3 years. I would also expect that by growing in a pot, the size and quantity of the fruit would be diminished as compared to growing in the ground.

Worm_Farmer
01-12-2012, 10:50 AM
It is winter right now so it might not work as good. But from my experence watering in extra Humic acid and adding Azomite at the same time will get my plants to start shooting up pups. Its worth a try, and def cants hurt anything. I notice it happens in spring every time I water in Humic.

Richard
01-12-2012, 11:20 AM
It is winter right now so it might not work as good. But from my experence watering in extra Humic acid and adding Azomite at the same time will get my plants to start shooting up pups. Its worth a try, and def cants hurt anything. I notice it happens in spring every time I water in Humic.

Which Azomite (http://www.azomite.com/) product are you using?

Worm_Farmer
01-13-2012, 08:19 AM
I have been using the Micronized Powder. I just throw it around the root base and water in. I do want to get some Slow-Release as well and do a mix of the two. Because micronized is available to the plants right away, I think by adding the Slow release it will remain around longer as I only put it down once to twice a year.

Richard
01-13-2012, 10:24 AM
I have been using the Micronized Powder. I just throw it around the root base and water in. I do want to get some Slow-Release as well and do a mix of the two. Because micronized is available to the plants right away, I think by adding the Slow release it will remain around longer as I only put it down once to twice a year.

The Azomite analysis (http://www.azomite.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66&Itemid=11) states that by weight it is primarily about 5% potash, about 1% each of calcium and iron equivalent, plus trace amounts of unbalanced secondary and micronutrients. The potash and iron sources will promote root development. The product also is 2% sodium oxide so be careful not to overdose.

oakshadows
01-14-2012, 07:45 AM
The Truly Tiny now has 3 pups. Hope it keeps going as we would like to have several of these to grow around the outside and inside, where this one is now. The other plants are all outside and many are doing good. Another dose the first of the month and also some ferts. Will have to spread out the drip system since it could get to be a big task to do it by hand.